My degree not bogus: Maharashtra Education Minister Tawde

Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde has now clarified that the engineering “degree” he obtained from a Pune institute in 1984 is not bogus as claimed by a television news channel.

The minister’s clarification came after media reports that his BE Electronics “degree” was fake.

“I am a student of Pune’s Dnyaneshwar Vidyapeeth and I am proud of it. I have never hidden the degree I obtained from that university,” Mr Tawde told reporters in Mumbai.

“A bridge course was started at the Vidyapeeth with the objective of imparting practical experience to students along with theoretical knowledge. I took admission to the course in 1980 and passed out in 1984. The course comprised part-time education and part-time internship,” Mr Tawde said.

“Students were told while seeking admission that the course is not recognised by the government. I knew it and accepted it,” the minister said.

Vinod Tawde’s degree has garnered some questions pertaining to its authenticity. Reports suggest that the minister’s degree is from an unrecognised university.

The minister had said that he holds a BE (Electronics) degree from Sant Dnyaneshwar University, Pune, but the university’s website states that it is not affiliated with the UGC or AICTE, the bodies responsible for maintaining the required standards at higher education institutions.

The petitioner alleged Joshi was the chancellor of Dnynaneshwar Vidyapeeth, which had been functioning for the last 25 years without the UGC’s approval

The Bombay high court on Wednesday directed the state government to file an affidavit by November 30 regarding action taken against a Pune-based ‘bogus’ university, Dnyaneshwar Vidyapeeth, which was allegedly headed by former chief minister and Lok Sabha speaker Manohar Joshi.